Vicent Kompany, who was appointed as Bayern Munich's head coach in late May, is about to lead the club to play their first game under him when they face Ulm in the DFB-Pokal game on Friday.

"We are playing against Ulm, they have done a good job over the past couple of years," Kompany said. "It's an important game for us. I don't think it's our intention to go into this game without respect for the opponent. We are looking forward to it. The pressure is always on Bayern, that's the way it is."

Bayern saw their 11-season Bundesliga winning streak end in the 2023-24 campaign dominated by undefeated Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Neither were they too close to winning the UEFA Champions League or DFB-Pokal. The Germany powerhouse was eliminated by Real Madrid in the semifinals in the Champions League and lost to Saarbrucken of the 3. Liga in the second round at DFB-Pokal.

Ulm were promoted to 2. Bundesliga after winning the 3. Liga title last season.

"The players (who recently joined the team) are not 100-percent fit yet, but we'll get there," Kompany added. "It's important that they stay fit because we have a lot of games in the coming months. They're ready to play a role, but probably not for 90 minutes. I hope in the coming weeks we'll manage to get all the players ready to play for 90 minutes. You will see tomorrow who will be there and who will not."

Bayern parted ways with Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui who joined Manchester United. The club signed Michael Olise from Cystal Palace and Joao Palhinha from Fulham.